Regina spent much of the next week preparing for her lessons with Henry. She had deduced in their brief acquaintance that he was bright and inquisitive, and she used that to her advantage in her preparations.

Her mother, inquisitive to the point of causing destruction, discovered her intent three days into her lesson planning. Her reaction, which she withheld until the following morning at breakfast, was precisely what Regina had anticipated: appalled and ashamed that her daughter would have the audacity to not only flaunt her ability to read, a skill which was rare in the women around them, but that she would openly pass along that skill to an impressionable young boy.

"Honestly, Regina, have I taught you nothing? We all have our place in this world, and if it was this boy's fate to be one of the great thinkers of our time, it is likely that he would have begun to acquire the skill long before now. I forbid you from helping this boy. It is neither your place nor your responsibility. You cannot single-handedly make those who are less fortunate than us improve their circumstances, you ought to have learned that lesson by now."

Regina looked over at her father beseechingly, imploring him to aid her. He remained silent, as was his custom, and she sat fuming until the family rose from the table. What right did her mother have to control her life? History had taught her that contrary to her own beliefs, her mother did not have her best interests at heart.

Memories of what she lost assailed Regina as she collected her things for Henry's first lesson, and she paused for a moment to collect herself. Her mother had shown in the past that she would stop at nothing to secure the future that she wanted for each of her daughters. Tears filled Regina's eyes at the remembrance of what had occurred a decade before to prove just how far her mother would go, and she despaired of ever finding a man that would both satisfy her mother's requirements for the ideal husband and fulfill her own dreams for the man she would spend the rest of her life with. One who would both speak his mind and let her speak her own, who would allow her to be herself, an equal in a life they built together.

She had found such a man once upon a time, and her mother had thoroughly taken care of him, ensuring that he wanted nothing to do with her. All she had left of the idealistic young woman of years before was her poetry, her outlet for all of her emotions surrounding those events.

Thinking of her favorite form of expression reminded Regina of what she had intended to do before she became lost in her memories. She rapidly picked up her things and left. Henry was waiting for her.

Half an hour later, Regina found a nervous Henry sitting in the middle of the town square. "Hello, Henry," she greeted him with a smile. "How are you? Are you ready to learn how to read and write?"

He looked up, his eyes wide as a grin spread over his face. "Yes!" he exclaimed. His smile faded for a moment. "I was worried you would not come, that I would be waiting here until sunset and still would not see you.."

Regina's heart broke. What must his life be like that he did not believe her when she said she would come? His story was likely a tragic one, one that she wanted to hear, but she would wait until Henry was ready to disclose that information. For now, she would offer her presence and comfort. To that end, she pulled him close for an embrace, then pulled away and looked him in the eye. "I would never do that to you, Henry. Do you understand?"

He nodded slowly, but she surmised that he did not believe her. She would show him the truth of her words. She somehow knew that with each passing lesson, they would grow closer, until he would not know what to do without her.

They found a place beneath a large pine tree, not far from the town square, where she began teaching him in earnest. That first day, she began with the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that each one made. Henry was quick, and after a few hours' hard work, he was able to correctly recall many of the letters and sounds she had taught him. As the sun started to sink over the rooftops of the buildings around them, she bid him farewell, instructing him to practice tracing each of the letters, which she had written down for him on a spare piece of cloth that she had seen no better use for.

She turned as Henry walked away to find the piercing blue eyes of Mr. Locksley. She couldn't read his expression, but it was one that she had never seen before. Normally, when his gaze was focused on her, his eyes were cold, calculating. Now, he seemed pensive, and it was as if his eyes were windows that had at last seen the first rays of the sun for the first time in years, and she didn't know what to do with that fact. The illegible look he was giving her made her want to get to know him better, but she feared the worst. One wrong word, and shutters would fall over those blue eyes once more, and he would be lost to her.

She shook her head, chastising herself. From the day they met, she had sworn to avoid him like the plague, a disease intent on contaminating everything around her until there was nothing of value left in her world. Now she was trying to see the man behind the self-righteous monster? What was wrong with her? At last, she asked, "Can I help you, Mr. Locksley?"

Those shutters that she had feared came crashing down the second she began addressing him. He inclined his head then looked at her again, shaking his head. "No, milady, I am well, thank you."

She returned home pondering Mr. Locksley's strange behavior. Amidst the incessant chatter of her mother and sisters, she wondered what thoughts had crossed Mr. Locksley's mind that had persuaded him to let his guard down, even if it was only for a moment. And despite her better judgement telling her it was foolish to consider such things, she found herself wondering what it would be like to intentionally bring that look back into his eyes, and what she would see if he ever smiled in her presence.

She quickly banished those thoughts from her mind. She had sworn to loathe the man for all eternity. He was chauvinistic, never allowing even the idea that women could be his equals to enter his mind. And if his treatment of her was any indication, he was careless and unapologetic in his words and actions. He had shown himself to be rude and self-centered, and such a man was the furthest thing from the type of man she wanted to associate herself with, and so she eschewed all thoughts of him from her mind fOR the rest of the evening.

By dawn of the next day, all of the positive thoughts she had had concerning Mr. Locksley the previous night were flung far from her mind. At breakfast, Emma received a letter from the Booth mansion that pulled her thoughts away from all else, and in fact, turned her against him completely, for she suspected that he had played a role in the events of the morning.

When Emma had opened the letter, her eyes had shone with the light of new love. As she read, however, her eyes were bright with unshed tears. She fled from the room, Regina on her heels, ready and eager to comfort her sister in any way she could.

"The whole family is leaving town," Emma divulged to Regina as she closed the door of their bedroom behind her.

"What?" Regina gasped, hardly daring to believe she had heard correctly.

"Here, read it, I don't mind," Emma insisted, passing the letter over, her hands and voice shaking slightly. Regina could see that whatever this letter contained, her sister was feeling its effects deeply.

Regina unfolded the letter, smiling at the thought that even in these moments, when her sister was the most upset Regina had ever seen her, Emma had not wanted to indirectly hurt anyone in any way. If she had been in her shoes. Regina knew that in her ire she would have crumpled the letter into a ball and thrown it into the fireplace, leaving it to burn without a second thought. It was in these moments that Regina saw her family clearly: how Emma was by far the best of all of them, despite the pain she received in moments like these when she was hurt because of outside forces.

She turned her attention to the letter and began to read.

My dearest Emma, the letter read:

I regret to inform you that we will be leaving within the week to travel around the country. Ruby wishes to experience warmer climes whilst Virginia is still in the depths of winter. She also wishes for us to reunite with Robin's sister, Belle, who is, as we have often discussed, a lovely young woman who is most accomplished in every way, much like you.

I send you this letter because unfortunately, we depart at dawn tomorrow, which will allow for no time for me to say farewell to you. I wish you nothing but the best, my lovely, sweet Emma, and I fervently hope to return to Virginia as soon as possible to gaze upon your beautiful features again.

Until then, I remain yours most sincerely,

August

Regina looked up at Emma, rage at her sister's plight

filling her. She would bet anything that Ruby and Mr. Locksley had something to do with her sister's broken heart, particularly because Mr. Booth had mentioned Mr. Locksley's sister. It was likely that the two were trying to encourage him to choose Miss Locksley as his bride in her sister's stead, and Regina would not hear of it, not without a fight. Despite the fact that Emma rarely showed the depth of her emotions, Regina knew that she felt deeply for Mr. Booth, and would be heartbroken if he left.

"You must go to him, Emma," she instructed firmly. "Today. If you do not, you will likely regret it forever."

"But- what do I do, what do I say?" Emma fretted. "I am not you, Gina, I cannot just march in his house, ask to speak with him, and beg him to stay."

Regina sat on the bed beside her older sister, looking her straight in the eye so that Emma could see the sincerity in her next words. "But Emma, that is precisely what you must do. He is in love with you, I know he is. You are just alike in that you are not revealing your true feelings. Ruby is simply dragging him off to persuade him otherwise, and you must do all you can to persuade him to not go through with it. She intends to connect their families through marriages between herself and Mr. Locksley and her brother and his sister. But I know that he loves you, Emma, so you must not give up."

Emma sighed and stood, pulling on her cloak with a decisive, "I suppose you are correct. But oh, how I dread the inevitable confrontation."

"Good luck," Regina called as her sister walked out of the room.

Three hours later, her sister returned, and although there were no tears streaming down her face, her lips were trembling. Regina rushed to hug her, ushering her to their bed and laying down with her, wrapping her in her embrace as her tears fell unchecked.

They remained like that for an indefinite amount of time until Emma finally fell into a fitful slumber. Regina vowed that the next time she saw Mr. Locksley, she would give him a piece of her mind. First David, then her sweet, innocent sister. Was there anything this man wouldn't do to destroy the happiness of everyone around her?